Thanks for the link Parasolid. I like Zach Lowe, but I disagree with him here. I think that Dwight just wants to win and to have a little less drama in his life with friendlier teammates. I'd be very surprised if we saw him seriously pouting about team shot distribution this year.
Every1 has to play their best, but really, I think the ring lies in Howard's hands. I mean, I am just imagining whose gonna be guarding Harden in the finals. It's either going to be Wade or Lebron; if Wade busts a Tim Duncan, then good luck to Harden; if it is Lebron, then just take Harden out of the game. The Heat's weakness is in the front court; obviously not the 3, but more the 5. We saw this with the Pacers. It takes the big men on a team to take on the Heat; as such, Howard, Omer--assuming he isn't traded--and whoever else takes the 4 spot will be vital to a ring.
you're jumping the gun here, let's get to the WCF before we talking about the finals. It's going to take a herculean effort just to get through Kevin Durant+Russell Westbrook, the two best talents in the west, and the Spurs, who have the best all around team in the west.
I would say that Harden and Howard are now the two best teammate talents in the west because one is a wing and one is a low post. You're right about the herculean effort, but I really think as long as we stay healthy that we will have a good chance of beating the Spurs and the Thunder.
Speaking about pace and Dwight in the post... I think we've already found a good balance of the two in these two preseason games. What say?
I'm convinced Howard doesn't mind the pick and roll as long as he gets the ball back often enough...whether that is simply jumping up and finishing or rolling into a post up. You can already see Harden and Lin looking for him first every time down the floor. The problem in LA wasn't the pick and roll. It was the pick and rebound. It was the general flippant attitude towards Dwight's offense. They wanted him to grind on defense and be a garbage man offensively and they weren't shy about getting this across to him. In our offense you've already seen multiple post-ups where Dwight waits for the cutter and dishes for the layup/dunk. A tremendous positive wrinkle to keep defenses from setting up on the pick and roll. Just another weapon in the arsenal.
I also think analysts are way too concernced about Howards psyche. He wants to have fun and play a major role on a championship calibre team. He didn`t have a championship calibre team in Orlando - one year they came close, but really, they had no chance. And without Howard, that team would have had trouble to even make the playoffs. He didn`t have fun in LA, and he didn`t like playing with Kobe. He didn`t hate the pick and roll - he played it in Orlando and excelled at it. He just also wants postups, since he knows, he can exploit them. In Houston he has a great team and a great chemistry. He will get feeds in the post, he will get pick and rolls, he will get transition baskets and he will get assists from a driving Harden/Lin. He will play a huge part in our offense, and he will be happy. Now all we need is that championship. Howard is fully aware of how the media and fans are seeing him - and he wants to redeem himself. He won`t whine about his role - he will show on and off the court, that the perception of him is way off. I would be willing to bet on that.
You bring up a very important point regarding Lin's value here but you didn't magnify it. If we get to the Finals...or even if we get into the upper echelon of the West playoffs...we're going to run into teams that take Harden away. We ought to face facts here. That is what started happening towards the end of the year last year. When that happens this team really needs that second playmaker..that guy that can run the pick and roll at the top, can finish with contact, and can find guys effectively on the swing-outs to the perimeter and dives into the paint. There is no other player on this team at this time that has the capability of doing that effectively other than Jeremy at this time. That's why it will be interesting to see how Canaan develops in d-league. Canaan has the potential to become a primary playmaker. He was that very effectively in college. But until Canaan proves he can be effective and efficient in that role..I don't see how we can trade Jeremy without getting another playmaker back.
Yeah, I don't know why they always have to be so cute about Dwight's reservation about PnR. He's not dumb. He can see where it's effective. He just didn't want to do it every time down the floor like D'Antoni did. The huge hole last year in the Rockets offense was a legit post presence. It was obvious a good post player who can score, draw double teams, and pass out of the post would make them exponentially more lethal. It's a good fit for Dwight and he should get exactly what he was looking for and more.
Seeing that Dwight and Harden are calling the shots and abandoned that bubu 3point philosophy, I now believe they will go to the western finals as long as everyone is healthy.
The key is that they don't take Harden and Howard away. The Pacers were the best team (or really close to it) against Harden last year and were the best defensive team last season. He scored less points than FGAs in both games. This preseason game, the Pacers had to worry about Howard. Harden scored 21 points on 12 shots. I know preseason isn't the best indicator, but it is difficult to not get excited. If teams focus on stopping Harden, Howard is going to get a lot of dunks and a lot of and 1s.
Harden played well against the Heat last season. He can score against LBJ and Wade. He struggled more with Iggy.
I do want to just add my 2 cents about Dwight Howard in the post. I've noticed in just 2 games a ton of improvement in Dwight's post game, and seen a drastic change in his versatility to not just play in the low post, but also come out a little bit to the high post. Beforehand, Dwight simply would fight for position in the deep position in the post, and simply out-muscle his way to either the free throw line or get a lay-in/dunk. What has happened this year is someone (or multiple people) have guided him out a little bit further to almost the high post where bigs like Duncan, and KG have made their mark on the game in the 2nd half of their careers. However what Dwight is doing is using his speed and quickness to get the bigger center out further and make a move towards the basket.... something he has looked pretty good at as well, and not something that bigs like KG and Duncan were ever able to do. If Dwight can get consistent enough with that jump shot or bank shot that KG & Duncan have made all these years, its going to really do wonders for both his game AND it will create enough space to also play Asik on the other side of the paint. Not only that. Its also going to prolong his career if he isn't taking as much of a physical toll on his body by moving up a few feet to the high post. Dwight in the high post will be the sets mostly run with Asik on the floor. Without Asik on the floor- Dwight in the pick & roll we will see quite a bit here, but I look for him to be more of a decoy in those sets for Harden to get open drives to the basket than anything. I think defenses will make the decision that its a much higher percentage defensive play for them to stay with Dwight, and bring over an extra defender to stop Harden... leading to one of the other 3 players being open on the perimeter for open 3 point shots. Here you really need another big that can space the floor or Asik's man will simply not guard him at all, and the Rockets will be living and dieing by Asik's jump shot.... not something I would want to see if I'm McHale. All in all, I do think this is a contending team based on Howard's ability to play in so many different ways effectively. Very few bigs EVER have had the kind of versatility that Dwight has to be great both as a pick and roll big, a low post big, and POTENTIALLY a high post big, and he's only going to get better the smarter & more skilled he gets. His major strength is that he's not necessarily great at anything on offense, but he very good & affective at alot of things. He's truly one of the more difficult bigs to guard because of this..... despite what Kareem thinks.
